Monthly Archives: April 2013

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A reader submitted the following question: Queen Beatrix changed from her signature hat style in the early 90′s, then came back to it in the late 90′s. In between there are some very fun looking fantastical hats. How did this come about? Was there a different designer or consultant during this period?

From the 1970s until 2003, Harry Scheltens designed most of Queen Beatrix’s hats. From all accounts, Scheltens was a playful personality who took greater risks with Beatrix’s hats as the years went on. I think the shift you noticed during the 1990s was simply a designer pushing the creativity of his work. Some of the hats might look a little funny now but I think this speaks to the remarkable amount of trust Beatrix placed in her hatmaker.

Suzanne Moulijn also made hats for Queen Beatrix in the 1990s. After Scheltens retired, Beatrix turned to Moulijn for more of her millinery. Moulijn’s designs have a very recognizable style characterized by a combination of clean lines and rounded shapes as you can see here. I think this is the “signature style” you’re referring to that we still see today.

Moulijn is also responsible for some of Beatrix’s feathered hats. Striking? YES!! Flattering? I’m not so sure.

Hats designed by Suzanne Moulijn

Occasionally, Beatrix turns to Myra van de Korput for hats. She made both the blue picture hat and the black metallic hat (designed for the quick addition of a headscarf during a trip to the U.A.E. in 2012) below.

Like her friend Queen Elizabeth, Queen Beatrix has also developed a very close relationship with her dresser, Emy Hill. Hill was a former pupil of Harry Scheltens – this training, combined with her close involvement in Beatrix’s wardrobe, made designing hats for the Queen a natural and obvious role for her to take on. I think the most memorable Hill millinery (so far!) was this pink flowered picture hat Queen Beatrix wore at the christening of her granddaughter Princess Amalia on June 12, 2004.

Because Hills is a royal employee, we don’t often hear confirmation of the hats she has designed. Here are a few others I strongly suspect are her work.

That was a VERY long answer to your question but I hope it provided some insight into Queen Beatrix’s hats!

For Queen Beatrix’s 75th Birthday in January earlier this year, we took a look back through some (155!) of her memorable hats. I thought it would be fun to revisit this hat extravaganza again today in honor of her upcoming retirement. Click on the title or any of the photos below to bring up each post. I can’t resist asking which one is the most horrible?! The most absurd? The most beautiful? Which one is your favourite?

Queen Beatrix completed her last official engagement as Queen of the Netherlands this morning in The Hague. Very fittingly, she opened The Huygens Exhibition, a “spectacular show about the House of Orange, the Golden Age and the revolutionary scientific progress achieved during that period. The exhibition combines political history, science and the arts to provide a full immersion into the context of the times”. I thought it was poignant that her last official engagement involved a look back in history before we all look forward to the next monarch on April 30. It’s amazing the continuity these royal families are part of.

Beatrix wore one of her classic blue domed single tier cake hats. I don’t think there’s anything to say except she looked radiant and happy, and that we’re all going to miss seeing her this way, as Queen, very much.

This is the same hat the Queen wore during her last visit to Aruba in October 2011. That visit, accompanied by Prince Willem Alexander and Princess Máxima was one that seemed particularly fun and happy. I don’t know if that’s why she chose to repeat this hat today…. I do know that the joy we see on Beatrix’s face during that visit is something we all hope will multiply and continue in this new phase of her life.

Don’t forget to add your vote to this month’s second poll featuring an all Dutch cast in some spectacular red fascinators. Voting will remain open until this Monday, April 29th at 6:00 AM GMT and the winner will be unveiled later that morning, just in time for the Dutch abdication and inauguration. To see the original poll post with large photos, click here.

Princess Benedikte of Denmark visited the kitchen appliance manufacturers West Frost and Viking in Esbjerg yesterday. She repeated the red wool stacked beret designed by Susanne Juul that she wore to the Danish Opening of Parliament last October. I like the vibrant colour on her and find the shape interesting…

What do you think? Is this a good shape or is it interesting in not such a good way?

Lady Gabriella Windsor, daughter of Prince and Princess Michael of Kent (he is Queen Elizabeth’s first cousin), celebrates her 32nd birthday today. Ella, as she is known, lives in London and works as a freelance feature writer. At six feet tall, she’s one of the tallest royal women and after graduating last year with a Master’s degree in Philosophy from Oxford University, she’s one of the most educated as well. Like many of the other ‘secondary’ royals, we see Ella just at weddings and major events (like the upcoming 60th anniversary of the Queen’s coronation and the Trooping of the Colour in early June).

Ella is wonderfully stylish, as evidenced by this Philip Treacy hat she wore in December 2012 to the Hennesy Cup. I think the shape and color of this oversize Homburg-style hat is marvelous on her.

Queen Elizabeth wasn’t the only royal birthday girl today – it was also the birthday of Princess Isabella of Denmark who turned six years old. The Danish Monarchy released a series of photos taken by Crown Princess Mary to commemorate this milestone. For this photo shoot, Isabella wore her first fascinator- a sweet cornflower blue dahlia headband. This spirited girl has the makings of a wonderful future hat wearer, don’t you think?!